David Bailiff had been on the job at Texas State only a few days in 2004 when he sat down and wrote Mack Brown a letter.

"I basically asked him if he could help me with this head coaching thing," Bailiff remembered.

He'd worked for Dennis Franchione and Gary Patterson at TCU and knew their way of doing things. But as Bailiff began his own journey, he was hoping to pick the brains of as many people as he could.

He'd heard Brown was gracious with his time, especially with young coaches, but he had no idea what to expect. From that letter grew a friendship.

"Let me tell you what kind of person Mack Brown is," Bailiff said. "He tells me to come see him, and I thought I'd get maybe an hour of his time. I mean, he's got a few things going on."

Instead, Texas' football coach spent an entire day with Bailiff. Brown kept shoving in front of Bailiff personal notebooks from his time at Appalachian State, Oklahoma, Tulane and North Carolina.

They talked and talked. Brown spoke of the mistakes he'd made and the lessons he'd learned. Brown told him he too had sought the counsel of older coaches, including Darrell Royal, who once spent a day with him at Tulane.

"I was doing for him what a whole lot of older coaches have done for me," Brown said from his office in Austin. "I always feel you should help where you can. The thing about those kinds of discussions is you end up picking up things, too. We all steal from one another in football. I don't think I've had an original thought in my life."

That one of the best coaches in the history of college football would set aside time for a young coach was a lesson Bailiff has never forgotten. In the six years since, they've kept in touch, each rooting for the other.

"What David wanted to know was how he could create a good experience for the kids," Brown said. "That's what it came down to."

Had Brown known of David Bailiff before the letter?

"Yeah," he said, laughing. "I'd read somewhere that his mom was his administrative assistant and thought, 'Isn't that neat?' "

Office innovation

One of Bailiff's ideas at Texas State was the Golden Bobcats, a group of retirees who helped with administrative tasks around the office. His mom, Marsh, got the most important job.

"She was like a pit bull for me," Bailiff said. "No one got through her."

When Bailiff was about to take the Rice job in 2007, he didn't quite know how to break the news to his mom.

"She told me good luck and that going to Rice was the right thing," Bailiff said. "Then she wanted to know why I hadn't introduced her to Mack Brown. I said, 'Mom, I had no idea you wanted to meet him.' "

He mentioned the conver-sation to Brown a few days later at a coaching clinic.

"About two weeks later, my mom calls and says, 'I just got a phone call from someone more important than the President of the United States — Mack Brown,' " Bailiff said.

An autographed 8x10 arrived a few days after that.

"It's not just me," Bailiff said. "Coach Brown is like that with everyone. Ask any Texas alumni or letterman. He's a great coach, a great recruiter, but part of his success is treating people the way we'd all like to be treated. I can never thank him enough for the things he has done for me - and my mom."

Bailiff brought up his relationship with Brown this week as he prepared his team to open the 2010 season against the Longhorns at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Reliant Stadium.

For the Owls, this is one of those killer games that will provide a measuring stick about their progress from last season's 2-10 disappointment. Bailiff believes Rice will be better, but being better doesn't translate into beating Texas.

Transfer running back Sam McGuffie gives the Owls an explosive offensive weapon, and up and down the roster, players say they learned all kinds of important lessons last year.

Big on aggression

"On defense especially, what you saw was a lot of defensive players not hustling to the ball," defensive end Cheta Ozougwu said. "That's one thing that really hurt us - not having that aggression on defense. One thing you'll see this year is aggression to the football."

The Owls had one of their greatest seasons ever in 2008, going 10-3 and winning a bowl. But the core of that team graduated, and Rice doesn't have the depth to survive big losses.

"It makes you question everything you're doing - schemes, decisions, personnel," Bailiff said. "At the same time, I have a very strong belief that everything we're doing here is right."

He says playing Texas is a chance to measure his program's progress. Given his choice, he'd prefer an easier measuring stick.

" President Kennedy said, 'Why does Rice play Texas? Not because it is easy, but because it is hard,' " Bailiff said. "I sure wish he'd said, 'Why does Rice play New Mexico State?' "